1Berita – The government has postponed the plan to purchase 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from Qatar. Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, the spokesperson for Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, stated that the postponement was agreed upon by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance due to fiscal constraints.
“The government, in this case, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense, has agreed to postpone the purchase of the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft. Why? Because our fiscal capacity for the time being cannot support the purchase of Mirage 2000-5, so there is a delay,” Dahnil said when confirmed on Wednesday night (3/1).
Dahnil explained that the government is currently planning to retrofit its existing aircraft while awaiting the arrival of the Dassault Rafale planes.
“It means our Sukhoi aircraft and the F-16s, in simple terms, will be repaired. So, they will fill the gaps in our air defense while waiting for the Rafale planes that we have ordered,” he said.
Earlier, in June 2023, the Ministry of Defense was reported to have signed a contract to purchase 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from Qatar. The contract for the purchase of these used fighter jets was approximately US$792 million or Rp11.8 trillion.
According to a written statement from the Ministry of Defense, the procurement of these aircraft was necessary because Indonesia needed fighter aircraft that could be rapidly deployed to compensate for the decreased combat readiness of the Indonesian Air Force. This reduction in combat readiness was due to the expiration of the service life of many Air Force fighter jets, the need for upgrades, overhauls/repairs, and the lengthy delivery time for newly ordered aircraft.
